Video: Yankees' Aaron Boone Says He Told Juan Soto He Looks 'Terrible' in Mets Uniform

Prior to Juan Soto's first game against the New York Yankees as a member of the New York Mets, his former manager shared his thoughts about the All-Star slugger wearing blue and orange instead of navy blue pinstripes.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone greeted Soto before Monday's spring training matchup against the Mets and jokingly told him he looks "terrible" in his new jersey.

Soto left the Yankees in the offseason to sign a 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets that is the richest contract in pro sports history.

The Yankees did put forth a strong effort to retain Soto. Their final offer was for $760 million over 16 years, which was a difference of $3.5 million per season compared to the Mets' offer.

Soto had a profound impact on the Yankees in his lone season in the Bronx. He finished third in AL MVP voting after hitting .288/.419/.569 with a career-high 41 homers in 157 games.

One of the signature moments of the entire 2024 season was Soto's go-ahead homer in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians that sent New York to the World Series.

Even though the Yankees did reallocate a significant portion of the money they were offering Soto to adding Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to their roster, they're already beat up entering the 2025 season.

Gerrit Cole will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will likely be out until June due to a strained lat. Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with "severe" injuries in both of his elbows. DJ LeMahieu could start the season on the injured list due to a calf injury.

Factoring all of this in, it's not a surprise that Boone would think Soto looks worse in Mets colors than he did in Yankees colors.

Hope is far from lost for the Yankees, even without Soto. They still have Fried as the ace of their rotation. Aaron Judge is the reigning AL MVP after hitting an MLB-high 58 homers in 2024. Bellinger has hit well this spring and should be able to use his left-handed swing to take advantage of the short porch in right field at Yankee Stadium.

Yankees fans will get their first opportunity in the regular season to greet Soto when the Mets play a three-game series in the Bronx from May 16-18.